Question

(ii) Who is the real culprit according to the king? Why does he

escape punishment?​

Answer 1

Answer:

Actually, the merchant's father was the real murderer but he was dead. On consulting this with his ministers, the king came to the conclusion that the punishment would be carried out on the merchant. He escapes the punishment because he is too thin to be properly executed on the stake.

Answer 2

Answer:

According to the king's weird logic, the merchant inherited everything for his father so he should take the share of his father's sin as well. As the merchant was too thin to fit on stack so he escaped execution. The king concluded that a man fat enough to fit the stack will serve the purpose.